1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to motorcycle accessories and, in particular, to motorcycle accessories which can be releasably attached to a motorcycle without the use of tools and/or which can be locked to the motorcycle to guard against theft.
2. Description of Related Art
Many different types of motorcycle accessories can be attached to and/or detached from a motorcycle for the purpose of changing the functionality or xe2x80x9clookxe2x80x9d of the motorcycle. For example, at times, the owner of a motorcycle may wish to attach a passenger backrest (commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9csissy barxe2x80x9d) to the motorcycle for the comfort of a passenger. At other times, the owner may wish to transport groceries, luggage, camping gear, or other cargo and, thus, may wish to attach saddlebags, a luggage rack, and/or a travel trunk to the motorcycle. Still at other times, the owner may wish to detach all of the accessories from the motorcycle for a sleek xe2x80x9cbare-bonesxe2x80x9d look.
Traditionally, one of the most common ways to attach motorcycle accessories to a motorcycle was to bolt, screw, or otherwise permanently attach the accessories to various attachment points on the motorcycle. Therefore, to customize a motorcycle, the owner of the motorcycle would have to use a wrench, a screwdriver, or other tools to attach and/or detach an accessory. One problem with this attachment/detachment method is that the necessary tools may not be readily available to the owner of the motorcycle, such as when he/she is touring on the open road. In addition, the attachment/detachment of the accessory in this manner can be tedious and time-consuming, particularly if the attachment points are located behind the fender strut, underneath the seat, or in other inaccessible locations on the motorcycle. Yet another problem is that the mounting hardware for the accessory can easily be lost or misplaced during the attachment/detachment process.
In an effort to overcome these problems, motorcycle accessories have been developed which can be releasably attached to a motorcycle without the use of tools. For example, some motorcycle accessories have been designed to include a latch which is moveable between a closed position to securely attach the accessory to the motorcycle and an open position to allow detachment of the accessory from the motorcycle. Examples of such latches are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,731, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,715, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,833. While these accessories can be quickly and easily attached to and/or detached from a motorcycle, they can just as quickly and easily be stolen from the motorcycle while the owner is eating inside a restaurant, paying for gas, or doing any other type of everyday activity. In addition, only one accessory can be releasably attached to the same mounting location on the motorcycle at any one time so that any additional accessories must be attached, if possible, to the motorcycle at a different mounting location.
Other types of motorcycle accessories which can be releasably attached to a motorcycle use a padlock or other type of locking device to releasably secure the accessory to the motorcycle. Examples of such locks are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,260 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,257,544. While the locks of these accessories guard against theft, there is still a problem in that only one accessory can be releasably attached to the same mounting location on the motorcycle. In addition, these accessories use the locking feature of the device to secure the accessory to the motorcycle such that the accessory cannot be secured to the motorcycle unless it is also locked in place. This mandatory locking feature may be undesirable to certain motorcycle owners due to the fact that the owner must necessarily keep track of one or more keys or other unlocking devices in order to attach and/or detach an accessory.
Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide a motorcycle accessory attachment assembly which is designed to releasably attach more than one accessory to the same mounting location on a motorcycle. Another objective of the present invention is to provide a motorcycle accessory which can be locked to a motorcycle to guard against theft. A further objective of the present invention is to provide a motorcycle accessory which can be releasably attached to a motorcycle and optionally locked thereto.
These and other objectives are met by the motorcycle accessory quick-release attachment assembly of the present invention. This assembly generally comprises two or more motorcycle accessories which can be releasably attached side by side to mounting studs without the use of tools.
In a preferred embodiment, the accessories are releasably attached to front and rear mounting studs installed on the rear fender of a motorcycle. The mounting studs each consist of an elongated bolt which extends through the fender strut and is secured in place with a nut on the inside of the strut. Mounted to the bolt on the outside of the fender strut is a metallic spacer tube, and stacked onto the spacer tube are inner and outer plastic mounting rings separated by a plurality of metallic spacers. The mounting rings each have an annular groove formed therein for receiving one of the two motorcycle accessories.
In an exemplary embodiment, a passenger backrest and a pair of saddlebags are releasably attached to the front and rear mounting studs, wherein the passenger backrest is mounted on the inner mounting rings of the mounting studs and the saddlebags are mounted on the outer mounting rings of the mounting studs. The passenger backrest is configured to extend upwardly from a right side plate and a left side plate, wherein each of the side plates has a front hook for mounting on the front inner mounting rings and a rear hook for mounting on the rear inner mounting rings. Similarly, each of the saddlebags has an outer side plate with a front hook for mounting on the front outer mounting rings and a rear hook for mounting on the rear outer mounting rings.
The side plates of the passenger backrest and saddlebags each have a novel latch mechanism connected to the rear hook thereof. Each of the latches is rotatable between a closed position to secure the rear hook to the rear mounting stud and an open position to release the rear hook from the rear mounting stud. The relatively narrow thickness of the latches allows the passenger backrest and saddlebags to be releasably attached side by side to the same set of mounting studs on the motorcycle.
In a related aspect of the preferred embodiment, each of the latches is configured to receive a padlock to lock the rear hooks to the rear mounting studs. As such, the passenger backrest and saddlebags can be optionally locked to the motorcycle to guard against theft.
The present invention will be better understood from the following description of the invention, read in connection with the drawings as hereinafter described.